Isoplexis & Others

Many thanks to Moira and Nick for the info. Reassuring to find that
for once I haven't been being TOTALLY stupid. No doubt comeuppance
this way comes....

Incidentally, re hardiness: I. canariensis has come through two
winters outside here and I. sceptrum through one full one and part of
another. Neither has suffered substantial damage, though, as I said
before, salt-laden winds do'em no favours. That is: even given our
cool summers, both will stand frosts down to around -3C at least -
and, since those temps. caused no real damage, presumably a degree or
two lower before dying; given hotter summers, perhaps they'd stand
substantially more?

Subsidiary questions:

Nick - any idea of the longevity of these creatures? Any idea of a
seed-source for either or both of the two rarer spp you (tantalisingly
- as ever!) mentioned? And do you happen to know where pics of them
might be found?

Can I thicken the mix, divert the current, with a couple of questions
about other plants:

I've just grown Anomatheca laxa albo-maculata from SIGNA seed. It's a
sweetheart - not so much white as palest cream, with dark red-brown
basal blotches. Question is: is albo-maculata as hardy as the type
(which flourishes here - so much so that it's beginning to self-sow)?
Only one UK nursery offers a-m, which, since it's so lovely, makes me
think perhaps it's more tender than A. l. itself. Anyone know?

Question two. Aristeas. I've a friend on the coast in North Wales who
grows several spp successfully in the ground (his favourite is A.
grandis) and I see there's now at least one UK nursery offering a
dozen or so spp. I'd like to try more myself but I'd like to know more
about the better species (both in terms of looks and in terms of
chances of success) before I dive in at the deep end. And talking of
diving in: how do I do it? That is, where do I get seed from? Perhaps
it's my memory going but I don't seem to remember many on Silverhill's
last couple of lists.

Moira: ok - one summer's experience in fifty years means you're let
off remembering just how unpredictable English summers usually are! Up
here at least (not in Torquay!), autumns are indeed often a great deal
better: September and the early part of October most years give us our
longest runs of sustained good weather - maybe not as 'hot' (hollow
laughter) as in high summer but a deal more reliable.
Tim Longville
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